Heart - Kardia (Greek Word Study)

Updated: Wed, 08/17/2016 - 18:33By admin

Heart(2588) (kardia) does not refer to the physical organ but is always used figuratively in Scripture to refer to the seat and center of human life. The heart is the center of the personality, and it controls the intellect, emotions, and will. No outward obedience is of the slightest value unless the heart turns to God. The kardia is the seat and center of human life and I often refer to it as the "control center" if you will of our being. I make the analogy of the air traffic controllers which monitor and regulate all incoming and outbound traffic at the airport. The significance of the heart in Scripture cannot be overestimated. It behooves every reader to make an effort to have a basic foundation of Scripture's use of the heart. One way to do this would be to study all the uses of kardia in the NT (at the bottom of this page) and all the uses of the corresponding Hebrew word leb and lebab (see bottom of page discussing Leb, Lebab). At the outset the reader should be aware that this article makes no attempt to give a definitive, all inclusive discussion of the heart which is truly one of the key words of the entire Bible. Below are a few short descriptions and some recommendations of well-done articles in Bible dictionaries.

Wayne Detzler notes that "Julius Miller marveled at the intricacy of the human heart and said: “In a normal person, the heart beats 70 times a minute, 100,000 times a day, 40 million times a year! During a single day, a ventricle pumps about 11,000 quarts [of blood], or 265 million quarts in a lifetime. If an elevator could be harnessed to this marvelous engine, you could ride from the ground floor to the fifth floor of a building in about an hour. No wonder Leonardo [Da Vinci] called it a ‘marvelous instrument.’ ”

Kardia gives us medical terms such as cardiac, cardiovascular, cardiologist, etc. Just as the integrity of our physical heart is vital to our physical life, in a similar and even more important way the integrity of our spiritual heart is vital to our spiritual life, for our spiritual life impacts not just our enjoyment of time but of eternity. Beloved, let us study the meaning of kardia (see all uses at bottom of page) and may God's Spirit make us be far more serious about guarding our kardia in this one short life (see Pr 4:23-note, cp 1Ti 4:7, 8-note, 2Co 5:9-note 2Co 5:10-note,

Spurgeon writes "A short life should be wisely spent. We have not enough time at our disposal to justify us in misspending a single quarter of an hour. Neither are we sure of enough life to justify us in procrastinating for a moment. If we were wise in heart we should see this, but mere head wisdom will not guide us aright." See his full note on Ps 90:12-note)

MacArthur on kardia - While we often relate heart to the emotions (e.g., “He has a broken heart”), the Bible relates it primarily to the intellect (e.g., “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders,” Matt 15:19). That’s why you must “watch over your heart with all diligence” (Proverbs 4:23-note). In a secondary way, however, heart relates to the will and emotions because they are influenced by the intellect. If you are committed to something, it will affect your will, which in turn will affect your emotions." (Drawing Near. Crossway Books) MacArthur adds that "In most modern cultures, the heart is thought of as the seat of emotions and feelings. But most ancients—Hebrews, Greeks, and many others—considered the heart to be the center of knowledge, understanding, thinking, and wisdom. The New Testament also uses it in that way. The heart was considered to be the seat of the mind and will, and it could be taught what the brain could never know. Emotions and feelings were associated with the intestines, or bowels." (MacArthur, J: Ephesians. 1986. Chicago: Moody Press)

Wayne Detzler on kardia - For the ancient Greeks the main meaning of the heart was the physical organ. However, under Homer it also meant the seat of emotions, as in loving with "all one's heart." For Greeks of that time, the heart was the seat of moral and intellectual life, and all emotions were embraced in this term. Later the emphasis fell on reasoning, and the heart was seen as the center of rational thought. The Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament, considered the heart to be the moral center of one's being. The Old Testament spoke of an evil heart, when someone was taken over by Satan. In the New Testament the major meaning of the heart is figurative, as the center of life, thought, feeling, and even spiritual response. In some cases the heart refers to the whole person. The provision of God fills one's heart with joy, and makes the whole person happy (Acts 14:17). James warned rich people against fattening their hearts for slaughter (James 5:5), a warning which echoed the sayings of Jesus (Luke 21:34). When speaking of God's knowledge of people, the Scripture says He knows their hearts (16:15). God knows if believers forgive one another from their hearts (Matt. 18:35). When we come to God in prayer, the Holy Spirit searches our hearts and suits our prayers to God's will (Rom. 8:27). In the final judgment God will judge the secrets of our hearts (2:16; 1 Cor. 14:25). When we obey God, we should do so wholeheartedly, from the bottoms of our hearts (Rom. 6:17; 1 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim. 2:22). God wants from us wholehearted commitment which is seen in all that we do (Col. 3:17, 23). The heart is also the seat of our thought processes, according to the New Testament. Jesus quoted Isaiah 6:9-10 to show that people understand with their hearts (Matt. 13:14-15). This same truth was reemphasized by the Apostle Paul in speaking to some Roman Jews (Acts 28:27). People who come to understand the glorious light of the Gospel understand it with their hearts (2 Cor. 4:6; Eph. 1:18). One's memory is also referred to as his heart (Luke 2:51). Not only is the heart a description of our whole being and the rational aspect of us, but it is also the seat of our emotions. The heart is joyful when something good happens to us (Acts 2:26; 14:17). By contrast when things go wrong one's heart is consumed with sorrow (John 14:1; Rom. 9:2). Love too is felt in the heart (Matt. 22:37; 2 Cor. 7:3; Phil. 1:7). When anguish comes upon us, it also descends on the heart (2 Cor. 2:4). A final significance of the heart is spiritual. It is the center of one's spiritual perception and purpose. The love of God is poured out in the heart of a believer (Rom. 5:5). When we trusted in the Lord, He set the seal of His Holy Spirit on our hearts (2 Cor. 1:22). The Holy Spirit also dwells in our hearts to give us a sense of our sonship; in fact He moves us to call out, "Abba [Daddy], Father" (Gal. 4:6). It is God who ultimately tests our hearts (1 Thes. 2:4).Thus the term "heart" is full of meaning in the New Testament. It speaks of the central part of people, that point where the emotions, reasoning, spiritual instincts, and God-consciousness is. In fact, in the New Testament the heart seems to refer to the whole immaterial part of people. (New Testament Words in Today's Language - an excellent resource)

Louw-Nida explains that kardia is "the causative source of a person’s psychological life in its various aspects, but with special emphasis upon thoughts—‘heart, inner self, mind. Though in English the term ‘heart’ focuses primarily upon the emotive aspects of life, in the Greek NT the emphasis is more upon the result of thought, particularly in view of the relationship of kardia to the Hebrew term leb (see study of leb), which, though literally meaning ‘heart,’ refers primarily to the mind.....It is often possible to render kardia by a number of different terms depending upon the immediate context, for example, ‘mind,’ ‘intention,’ ‘purpose,’ or ‘desire.’ In many languages it is quite impossible to use a term meaning ‘heart,’ since such a term may not lend itself to figurative extension in meaning. Often the equivalent of καρδία is ‘liver,’ while in a number of languages it is ‘stomach’ or ‘bowels.’ (Greek English Lexicon of the NT based on Semantic Domains)

Gerald Cowen has an excellent article on heart writing that "The center of the physical, mental, and spiritual life of humans. This contrasts to the normal use of kardia (“heart”) in Greek literature outside the Scriptures. The New Testament follows the Old Testament usage when referring to the human heart in that it gives kardia a wider range of meaning than it was generally accustomed to have....Finally, the heart is the dwelling place of God. Two persons of the Trinity are said to reside in the heart of the believer. God has given us the “earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:22 ). Ephesians 3:17 expresses the desire that “Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.” The love of God “is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” ( Romans 5:5 ). (Click to read this excellent easy to comprehend article in Holman's Bible Dictionary)

Bruce Waltke has an excellent article discussing several connotations of heart - (1) The Heart as Center of Physical Activity, (2) A Figure of Inaccessibility (hiddenness), (3) The Heart as Center of Hidden Emotional-Intellectual-Moral Activity, (4) The Heart's Emotional Functions, (5) The Heart's Intellectual-Spiritual Functions. Waltke elaborates on each of these aspects with Scriptural examples of each. Consult this article for his summary in Baker's Evangelical Dictionary.

NIDNTT gives a good summary of the use of kardia in classic Greek literature - kardia was used in secular Gk. in literal and metaphorical senses. On the one hand, it denoted the heart as an organ of the body and the centre of physical life (particularly in Aristotle). On the other hand, it was regarded as the seat of the emotions and the source of spiritual life in general. Used in specific senses with reference to nature, it meant the pith of wood and the seed of plants. kardia also had the general sense of centre, the innermost part (of men, animals or plants). Especially in Homer and the tragedians, kardia received a considerably extended range of meaning. It not longer indicated merely the centre of the body but also the intellectual and spiritual centre of man as a whole. (a) kardia, the seat of the emotions and feelings, of the instincts and passions. In this context the Greek thought of emotions like joy and sadness, courage and cowardice, strength and fear, love, hatred and anger (Homer, Il. 21, 547). (b) Homer, in particular, brought together the heart and reason without clearly separating thought and feeling. (Il. 21, 441). From this point it is only a short step to seeing the heart as the centre of man’s will and as the seat of his power of decision (Il. 10, 244). (NIDNTT)

Mounce's summary of kardia - The metaphorical use of this word dominates in the NT, just as it does the OT. kardia covers the whole range of activities that go on within one’s inner self, including thinking (Mk 2:6,8), grieving (Jn 16:6), rejoicing (Jn 16:22), desiring (Rom 1:24), understanding (Eph 1:18), and decision-making (2 Cor. 9:7). While people may be deceived by their own hearts and the deceitful hearts of others (Jas 1:26), and while sin and evil reside in the human heart (Rom 1:21; Jas 3:14), before the Lord the heart is an open book. He knows our hearts (Lk 9:47; 16:15), tests them (1 Thess. 2:4), searches them (Rom 8:27; Rev 2:23), strengthens them (1 Thess. 3:13), and reveals their motives (1 Cor. 4:5). The center of one’s spiritual life is in the kardia, where there may be temptation (Jn 13:2), devotion (Lk 12:34), faith (Rom 10:9), or doubt (Lk 24:38). Paul teaches that salvation is a matter of the heart (Rom 10:9–10), but the human heart by itself cannot accomplish it (Eph 2:8). The Lord must open the kardia, enabling a person to respond to his grace (Acts 16:14). The Spirit then comes to reside in the kardia (2 Cor. 1:22; Gal 4:6). There can still be struggles in the kardia, since Peter exhorts believers to set apart Christ as the Lord of their hearts (1 Pet. 3:15), and the author to the Hebrews warns his audience not to harden their hearts as their forefathers had done (Heb 3:8, 12). Acknowledging that there are many things vying for control of our hearts, Paul instructs (with an imperative command) believers to “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” (Col 3:15). (Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of the Old and New Testament)

W E Vine's summary of kardia - kardia (καρδία, 2588), “the heart” (Eng., “cardiac,” etc.), the chief organ of physical life (“for the life of the flesh is in the blood,” Lev. 17:11), occupies the most important place in the human system. By an easy transition the word came to stand for man’s entire mental and moral activity, both the rational and the emotional elements. In other words, the heart is used figuratively for the hidden springs of the personal life. “The Bible describes human depravity as in the ‘heart,’ because sin is a principle which has its seat in the center of man’s inward life, and then ‘defiles’ the whole circuit of his action, Matt. 15:19, 20. On the other hand, Scripture regards the heart as the sphere of Divine influence, Rom. 2:15; Acts 15:9.… The heart, as lying deep within, contains ‘the hidden man,’ 1 Pet. 3:4, the real man. It represents the true character but conceals it” (J. Laidlaw, in Hastings˒ Bible Dic.). As to its usage in the NT it denotes (a) the seat of physical life, Acts 14:17; Jas. 5:5; (b) the seat of moral nature and spiritual life, the seat of grief, John 14:1; Rom. 9:2; 2 Cor. 2:4; joy, John 16:22; Eph. 5:19; the desires, Matt. 5:28; 2 Pet. 2:14; the affections, Luke 24:32; Acts 21:13; the perceptions, John 12:40; Eph. 4:18; the thoughts, Matt. 9:4; Heb. 4:12; the understanding, Matt. 13:15; Rom. 1:21; the reasoning powers, Mark 2:6; Luke 24:38; the imagination, Luke 1:51; conscience, Acts 2:37; 1 John 3:20; the intentions, Heb. 4:12, cf. 1 Pet. 4:1; purpose, Acts 11:23; 2 Cor. 9:7; the will, Rom. 6:17; Col. 3:15; faith, Mark 11:23; Rom. 10:10; Heb. 3:12. The heart, in its moral significance in the OT, includes the emotions, the reason and the will. (Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words)

Kent Hughes (commenting on use of karia in Romans 6) - "The heart is the wellspring of man’s spiritual life, and that is where the Roman Christians’ obedience was rooted. It was not just a formal obedience—it came from the center of their being. This is the example of slavery Paul holds up for us all: a heartfelt obedience to Christ and his Word. It is an obedience which brings liberation." (Romans: Righteousness from heaven. Preaching the Word)

While kardia does represent the inner person, the seat of motives and attitudes, the center of personality, in Scripture it represents much more than emotion, feelings. It also includes the thinking process and particularly the will. For example, in Proverbs we are told, “As (a man) thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Jesus asked a group of scribes, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?” (Matthew 9:4). The heart is the control center of mind and will as well as emotion.

THE heart of man is his worst part before it is regenerated, and the best afterward; it is the seat of principles, and the fountain of actions. The eye of God is, and the eye of the Christian ought to be, principally fixed upon it. The greatest difficulty in conversion, is to win the heart to God; and the greatest difficulty after conversion, is to keep the heart with God. Here lies the very force and stress of religion; here is that which makes the way to life a narrow way, and the gate of heaven a strait gate. (from Proverbs 4:23 Keeping The Heart which has been called "one of greatest Christian books of all time"- Recommended Reading!)

The Scottish writer John Eadie says that "The “heart” belongs to the “inner man,” is the organ of perception as well as of emotion; the centre of spiritual as it is physically of animal life."

J D Watson says kardia "was used in secular Greek both in the literal and figurative sense, but the figurative was the most profound, picturing the heart as the seat of emotions and spirituality. In Homer's time (eighth century BC) and onward, however, it took on the even more significant meaning of both spiritual and intellectual life, including man's will and decision-making."

Abbott-Smith on kardia - In a psychological sense, the seat of man's collective energies, the focus of personal life, the seat of the rational as well as the emotional and volitional elements in human life, hence that wherein lies the moral and religious condition of the man.

Thayer says kardia is "The soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors."

Heart (kardia). The heart is, first, the physical organ, the centre of the circulation of the blood. Hence, the seat and centre of physical life. In the former sense it does not occur in the New Testament. As denoting the vigor and sense of physical life, see Acts 14:17; Jas 5:5; Luke 21:34. It is used fifty-two times by Paul.

Never used like psuche soul, to denote the individual subject of personal life, so that it can be exchanged with the personal pronoun (Acts 2:42 Acts 3:21; Romans 13:1- note); nor like pneuma spirit, to denote the divinely-given principle of life.

It is the central seat and organ of the personal life (psuche) of man regarded in and by himself, Hence it is commonly accompanied with the possessive pronouns, my, his, thy, etc.

Like our heart it denotes the seat of feeling as contrasted with intelligence. 2Cor 2:4; Ro 9:2 (note); Ro 10:1 (note); 2Cor 6:11; Php 1:7 (note). But it is not limited to this. It is also the seat of mental action, feeling, thinking, willing.

3. As giving impulse and character to action, Romans 6:17 (note); Ephesians 6:5 (note); Col 3:22 (note); 1Ti 1:5; 2Timothy 2:22 (note) . The work of the law is written on the heart, Ro 2:15 (note). The Corinthian Church is inscribed as Christ’s epistle on hearts of flesh, 2Cor 1:23.

It is contrasted with the face, 1Th 2:17 (note); 2Cor 5:12; and with the mouth, Ro 10:8 (note).

SINGLE HEART
PURE HEART
Two songs for your heart

Take a moment to listen to this song, one of my favorites from Craig Smith, entitled Single Heart...

He had only one aim
In placing us here
This is His domain
And His message is clear.

Single heart, Single mind.
My eyes forward all the time.
Single heart, purified.
Undivided, unified.
Single heart, Single mind.

May You find in us,
Solitary trust
May you find a single heart!

Here is another song Pure Heart-- take a moment to ponder your life in light the words sung by Craig Smith and make it your prayer to the Father today:

Over and over I hear it again
That the Father desires pure heart
Not to seek earthly treasure or the favor of man
But to be found with pureness of heart

Chorus
Pure heart is what the Father desires
Holy heart purified by God's holy fire
Broken heart, proven to be faithful and true
Fashion in me a heart that's thirsting for You

Search ever chamber, expose them to me
Create motives of honor and simplicity
May you find faithfulness, integrity
A heart which is worthy for Your eyes to seeChorus

My only ambition is to stand before You
And find I was pleasing in Your sight
An obedient child of God, faithful and true
Found with pureness of heartChorus

Illustration of the Human Heart - Salvation Army’s magazine, War Cry: “A tourist was once staying in an inn in a valley in northern Italy where the floor was dirty. He thought he should advise the landlady to scrub it, when he perceived that it was made of mud and the more she would scrub it the worse it would become. So it is with our hearts; its corrupt nature will admit of no improvement; it must be made ever anew.”

The Handle on your Heart - "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:16-19) - The English painter William Holman Hunt was born in London in 1827 and entered the schools of the Royal Academy in 1844. In 1848 he was a principal founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood that protested low standards in British art. These artists turned from the Royal Academy's style of painting and pledged themselves to paint accurately and faithfully from nature in precise detail. Hunt visited the Holy Land three times to study the historical and natural settings and lighting for his religious paintings. Hunt's best-known religious painting is The Light of the World (1853). In it Christ, dressed in royal robes, is shown in a garden at midnight, holding a lantern in his left hand, and knocking on a heavily paneled door with his right. This painting is rich in spiritual symbolism because it originated from Hunt's own experience of conversion. When the painting was unveiled a critic remarked to the painter, "Mr. Hunt, the work is unfinished. There is no handle on the door." Hunt answered, "That is the door to the human heart. It can be opened only from the inside." Christ does not force Himself upon you. He waits outside the door of your heart. Have you opened your heart to Christ? Today fellowship with Him—help Christ make His home in your heart. "In botany, he who knows mere names but has never seen a flower is as reliable as he who can expound on the finer points of theology, but has never known the love of Christ in his heart."—Charles Spurgeon (Peter Kennedy - From Generation to Generation)

Vance Havner asks Where Lies Your Heart? - In Westminster Abbey I walked by the tombs of kings and queens and other celebrities of centuries past, passed inscriptions honoring great names of England's long history. This musty old mausoleum of the ages lists the great and near-great, the famous and some infamous. Most of them meant little to me but beneath the floor of the Chapel lies the body of David Livingstone under an epitaph on which countless thousands have walked! had been told that most visitors to the Chapel walk around the inscription but nowadays we have a generation that has heard little and cares less about the great missionary whose heart is buried in Africa while the rest of his body reposes here.
These notables interred here mean little as such in the sight of God. I am reminded of that roll call of dignitaries in Luke's Gospel: "Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Philip, Lysanias, Annas, Caiaphas...." And what comes next? "... the word of God came unto John... (Luke 3:1,2)! All these VIPs only provided background for one prophet in the wilderness! In the balances of God, David Livingstone outweighs a whole succession of kings and queens. Not many wise, mighty, and noble are called anyway. God's Who's Who bears no resemblance to ours. One lone Christian who has lost his life to find it, buried as a grain of wheat in a dark pagan land, outshines all the big names of this poor world. David Livingstone knew the great secret. He outlived himself for he was a great example of planted—not packaged—Christianity.
It might be a disturbing thought to most of our smug church folks that every Christian is meant to be a missionary. We cannot pass the buck of personal responsibility to a few who are engaged in "full-time Christian service." We live in the midst of paganism right here in America. If we are not called to cross the sea we can cross the street and seek to convert the heathen. Idol worship in Africa is no worse than idle worship in America. Even the church needs missionaries for it has been said that the greatest evangelistic field is the membership of the average church. A David Livingstone today does not cope with the same types of problems but the fundamentals are unchanged.
David Livingstone's heart was buried in Africa. Where the heart is, there is the treasure also. Where would your heart be buried if the same procedure were followed with you as with the great missionary? It would be a revealing thing if in all cemeteries it could be written: HERE LIES THE BODY OF ______, BUT HIS HEART IS BURIED _____ where?
It could be said in Africa: HERE LIES THE HEART OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE. Where would such a marker be set up for your heart? In some place of business, some unholy affection, some pursuit of prosperity or pleasure? Sometimes a man's hobby is his god and after he dies his heart might properly be interred in his boat or some poor soul might order that hers be cremated and put in a box on the bridge table. No wonder we read here and there in the Scriptures: BUT THEIR HEART_____ Ah, there's the rub. Where lies your heart now? Would it be embarrassing if it were buried where it belongs? (Song at Twilight)

Vance Havner - The Empty Heart - And they enter in and dwell there. (Matthew 12:43-45) An empty heart is an invitation to the devil. It may not be an evil heart. An evil heart, deceitful and desperately wicked, is already occupied by Satan. An empty heart may be swept out and garnished; some bad habit may have been dropped, some new resolution made. One may even make some sort of Christian profession and join a church, but unless Jesus Christ takes up His abode in the vacated heart, seven demons return and the last state is worse than the first. (All the Days)

The Three Hearts - The Bruised Heart: Bitter - "And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?" Lk 24:17. The hearts of these two were sore—bruised with disappointment, disillusionment, depression, distress and darkness. Their light had gone out. Their hope had died. Their outlook blinded. What a wail was that "We trusted" (Lk 24:21).
The Burning Heart: Better - "And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" (Lk 24:32) The Saviour and the Scriptures are necessary to the setting of our hearts on fire. Only Christ can open the Book for He and He alone is the Great Subject of the Book. If we keep away from the Book we will burn out from lack of fuel. If we keep away from Christ we will burn out from lack of flame. The flame must light the fuel. Christ is the flame, the Scriptures are the fuel.
The Believing Heart: Best - "And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you" (Lk 24:35) What a change! What made it? The Living Christ! O let the living Saviour attend to your bitter heart. Let Him give you a better heart—a heart on fire and then the best heart—the believing heart. LESSON: Take up the book, catch up with Christ. Burn up for God. (Ian Paisley - A Text a Day Keeps the Devil Away)

How the Devil Steals the Word of God - "And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,... And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts." (Mark 4:2, 15) These verses uncover the Satanic strategy of stealing away the sown Word of God. The Devil fears the Word. Did it not slaughter him in the temptation of our Lord? "It is written. It is written. It is written," were three mortal blows which devastated Satan and made him make a hasty retreat.
Stealing the Word From the Heart - The heart is the citadel of man's soul. He who holds the heart controls the whole man. Satan hates a heart work. Therefore he takes immediate action to keep the heart from the Word of God, from exposure to the Divine Light. The entrance of God's Word always gives light. Note the words "Satan cometh immediately". So powerful is the Word that Satan knows its quick removal from the heart is the only way to retain his power over his captive.
Stealing the Word of God From the Mind - The vehicle to the heart is the mind. The Word enters by the mind. Satan moves swiftly to remove it from its passage to the heart. He does this by removing it through an overwhelming of the mind by other thoughts—thoughts of pleasure, thoughts of past, present and future, and thoughts of the world and the flesh. When the mind is thus overwhelmed he snatches away the Word and it is lost as far as our minds are concerned.

Stealing the Word of God From the Memory- Satan knows that the Word of God, firmly lodged in the memory, will some time awaken with power to shake the conscience. He must therefore dislodge it from the memory. This he does by a rash of thoughts and suggestions which fill the memory with the things of darkness and obliterate the things of light.Let us not be ignorant of Satan. Don't let the Devil catch us up. Make sure you catch the Devil on. (Ian Paisley - A Text a Day Keeps the Devil Away)

Warren Wiersbe's Devotional Heart Problems - "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily . . . so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness" (Heb. 3:12-13- see exposition). The heart of every problem is a problem in the heart. The people of Israel (except Moses, Joshua, and Caleb) erred in their hearts, which means that their hearts wandered from God and His Word. They also had evil hearts of unbelief; they did not believe that God would give them victory in Canaan. They had seen God perform great signs in Egypt, yet they doubted He was adequate for the challenge of Canaan. When a person has an erring heart and a disbelieving heart, the result will also be a hard heart. This is a heart that is insensitive to the Word and work of God. So hard was the heart of Israel that the people even wanted to return to Egypt! Imagine wanting to exchange their freedom under God for slavery in Egypt! Of course, all this history spoke to the hearts of the readers of this letter, because they were in danger of "going back" themselves. Believers who doubt God's Word and rebel against Him do not miss heaven, but they do miss out on the blessing of their inheritance today, and they must suffer the chastening of God.Applying God's Truth: 1. When was the last time your heart was "hardened by sin's deceitfulness"? 2. What are some blessings we stand to lose if we don't deal with hard-heartedness? 3. We are commanded to "encourage one another daily." How do you think this helps alleviate forming a "hard heart" toward God? Whom have you encouraged today? (Pause for Power - excellent devotional!)

NAU Matthew 5:8-note "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
28-note; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
NAU Matthew 6:21-note for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
NAU Matthew 9:4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, "Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?
NAU Matthew 11:29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.
NAU Matthew 12:34 "You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.
40 for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
NAU Matthew 13:15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.'
19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
NAU Matthew 15:8 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
18 "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.
19 "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.
NAU Matthew 18:35 "My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart."
NAU Matthew 22:37 And He said to him, "'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'
NAU Matthew 24:48 "But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,'

NAU Mark 2:6 But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,
8 Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, "Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts?
NAU Mark 3:5 After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
NAU Mark 6:52 for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened.
NAU Mark 7:6 And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?" (Thus He declared all foods clean.)
21 "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
NAU Mark 8:17 And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart?
NAU Mark 11:23 "Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.
NAU Mark 12:30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.'
33 AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE'S NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

NAU Luke 1:17 "It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
51 "He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, "What then will this child turn out to be?" For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.
NAU Luke 2:19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
35 and a sword will pierce even your own soul-- to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed."
51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
NAU Luke 3:15 ¶ Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ,
NAU Luke 5:22 But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
NAU Luke 6:45 "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.
NAU Luke 8:12 "Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.
15 "But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.
NAU Luke 9:47 But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side,
NAU Luke 10:27 And he answered, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
NAU Luke 12:34 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
45 "But if that slave says in his heart, 'My master will be a long time in coming,' and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk;
NAU Luke 16:15 And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.
NAU Luke 21:14 "So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;
34 ¶ "Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;
NAU Luke 24:25 And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
32 They said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?"
38 And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?

NAU John 12:40 "HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM."
NAU John 13:2 During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him,
NAU John 14:1 ¶ "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
27 "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
NAU John 16:6 "But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
22 "Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.

NAU Acts 2:26 'THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE;
37 ¶ Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?"
46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,
NAU Acts 4:32 ¶ And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.
NAU Acts 5:3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?
4 "While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God."
NAU Acts 7:23 ¶ "But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel.
39 "Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt,
51 ¶ "You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.
54 ¶ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him.
NAU Acts 8:21 "You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.
22 "Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.
NAU Acts 11:23 Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord;
NAU Acts 13:22 "After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, 'I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will.'
NAU Acts 14:17 and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness."
NAU Acts 15:9 and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.
NAU Acts 16:14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.
NAU Acts 21:13 Then Paul answered, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."
NAU Acts 28:27 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES; OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM."'

NAU Romans 1:21-note For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
24-note ¶ Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
NAU Romans 2:5-note But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
15-note in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,
29-note But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.
NAU Romans 5:5-note and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
NAU Romans 6:17-note But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,
NAU Romans 8:27-note and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
NAU Romans 9:2-note that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.
NAU Romans 10:1-note ¶ Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.
6-note But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: "DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, 'WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?' (that is, to bring Christ down),
8-note But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART "-- that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10-note for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
NAU Romans 16:18-note For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

NAU 1 Corinthians 2:9 but just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM."
NAU 1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God.
NAU 1 Corinthians 7:37 But he who stands firm in his heart, being under no constraint, but has authority over his own will, and has decided this in his own heart, to keep his own virgin daughter, he will do well.
NAU 1 Corinthians 14:25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.

NAU 2 Corinthians 1:22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.
NAU 2 Corinthians 2:4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.
NAU 2 Corinthians 3:2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men;
3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;
NAU 2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
NAU 2 Corinthians 5:12 We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.
NAU 2 Corinthians 6:11 ¶ Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide.
NAU 2 Corinthians 7:3 I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together.
NAU 2 Corinthians 8:16 ¶ But thanks be to God who puts the same earnestness on your behalf in the heart of Titus.
NAU 2 Corinthians 9:7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

NAU Galatians 4:6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"

NAU Ephesians 1:18-note I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
NAU Ephesians 3:17-note so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
NAU Ephesians 4:18-note being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;
NAU Ephesians 5:19-note speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
NAU Ephesians 6:5-note ¶ Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ;
22-note I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts.

NAU Philippians 1:7-note For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.
NAU Philippians 4:7-note And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

NAU Colossians 2:2-note that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself,
NAU Colossians 3:15-note Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.
16-note Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
22-note Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
NAU Colossians 4:8-note For I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts;

NAU 1 Thessalonians 2:4-note but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts.
17-note ¶ But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short while-- in person, not in spirit-- were all the more eager with great desire to see your face.
NAU 1 Thessalonians 3:13-note so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

NAU 2 Thessalonians 2:17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.
NAU 2 Thessalonians 3:5 May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.

NAU 1 Timothy 1:5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

NAU 2 Timothy 2:2-note2 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

NAU Hebrews 3:8-note DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS,
9-note WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED Me BY TESTING Me, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS.
12-note Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
15-note while it is said, "TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME."
NAU Hebrews 4:7-note He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, "TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS."
12-note For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
NAU Hebrews 8:10-note "FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
NAU Hebrews 10:16-note "THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM," He then says,
22-note let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
NAU Hebrews 13:9-note Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.

NAU James 1:2-note6 ¶ If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.
NAU James 3:14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
NAU James 4:8-note Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
NAU James 5:5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

NAU 1 Peter 1:22-note ¶ Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,
NAU 1 Peter 3:4-note but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
15-note but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

NAU 2 Peter 1:19-note So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.
NAU 2 Peter 2:14-note having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children;

NAU 1 John 3:19-note ¶ We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him
20-note in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.
21-note Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;

NAU Revelation 2:23-note 'And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
NAU Revelation 17:17-note "For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.
NAU Revelation 18:7-note "To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, 'I SIT as A QUEEN AND I AM NOT A WIDOW, and will never see mourning.'